Adaptive Taper Selection for Beamforming

1. A satellite communication system, comprising: a module in operative communication with a phased antenna array of one or more satellites, the phased antenna array having a field of view (FoV) and configured to communicate with devices in one or more cells in the FoV via a set of uplink beams, the module having a processing device configured to: adaptively determine an uplink beam taper for each uplink beam of the set of uplink beams; and distribute, to the phased antenna array, the uplink beam taper for each uplink beam of the set of uplink beams.

2. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein the uplink beam taper is determined according to at least one of a service beam type or a relative position between the phased antenna array and at least one of the cells.

3. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein the uplink beam taper is determined based on a distance between a target cell and a source of interference.

4. The satellite communication system of claim 3, wherein the uplink beam taper is a Chebyshev taper.

5. The satellite communication system of claim 1, where determination of the uplink beam taper is done independently for each uplink beam.

6. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to select one of a Chebyshev taper, a Kaiser taper or a rectangular taper for a given one of the set of uplink beams based on a relative position of a corresponding one of the cells within the FoV.

7. The satellite communication system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to select either a Chebyshev taper, a Kaiser taper or a rectangular taper for a given one of the set of uplink beams based on an interference suppression criterion.

8. The satellite communication system of claim 7, wherein taper selection by the processing device for a given one of the set of uplink beams is further based on a relative position of a corresponding one of the cells within the FoV.

9. The satellite communication system of claim 1, further comprising the phased antenna array.

10. A satellite communication system, comprising: a module in operative communication with a phased antenna array of one or more satellites, the phased antenna array having a field of view (FoV) and an aperture, and configured to communicate with devices in one or more cells in the FoV via a set of downlink beams, the module having a processing device configured to: select a downlink sub-aperture for each of the set of downlink beams; determine a downlink beam taper for each downlink beam of the set of downlink beams; and distribute, to the phased antenna array, the selected downlink sub-aperture and the downlink beam taper for each downlink beam of the set of downlink beams.

11. The satellite communication system of claim 10, wherein the downlink beam taper is determined according to at least one of a service beam type or a relative position between the phased antenna array and at least one of the cells.

12. The communication system of claim 10, wherein the phased antenna array is configured to apply each downlink sub-aperture to reduce a peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR).

13. The communication system of claim 10, wherein the downlink beam taper is determined based on a distance between a target cell and the phased antenna array.

14. The satellite communication system of claim 10, where determination of the downlink beam taper is done independently for each downlink beam.

15. The satellite communication system of claim 10, wherein the processing device is configured to select one of a Chebyshev taper, a Kaiser taper or a rectangular taper for a given one of the set of downlink beams based on a relative position of a corresponding one of the cells within the FoV.

16. The satellite communication system of claim 15, wherein selection of either the Chebyshev taper or the Kaiser tape is done in conjunction with downlink sub-aperture selection.

17. The satellite communication system of claim 10, further comprising the phased antenna array.

18. A satellite communication system, comprising: a module in operative communication with a phased antenna array of one or more satellites, the phased antenna array having a field of view (FoV) and configured to communicate with devices in one or more cells in the FoV via a set of uplink beams and a set of downlink beams, the module having a processing device configured to: adaptively determine an uplink beam taper for each uplink beam of the set of uplink beams; select a downlink sub-aperture for each of the set of downlink beams; determine a downlink beam taper for each downlink beam of the set of downlink beams; and distribute, to the phased antenna array, the uplink beam taper for each uplink beam of the set of uplink beams and the selected downlink sub-aperture and the downlink beam taper for each downlink beam of the set of downlink beams.

19. The satellite communication system of claim 18, wherein: the uplink beam taper is determined (i) according to a service beam type, (ii) according to a relative position between the phased antenna array and at least one of the cells, or (iii) based on a distance between a target cell and a source of interference; and the downlink beam taper is determined (i) according to the service beam type, (ii) according to the relative position between the phased antenna array and at least one of the cells, or (iii) based on a distance between the target cell and the phased antenna array.

20. The satellite communication system of claim 18, further comprising the phased antenna array.